Student magician tries to pay for college by performing magic

November 11, 2008
Filed under Features

Chasity Monschein
Editor-in-Chief

Mesmerizing students by crushing pencils with dollars, turning pennies into dimes, and making cards fly in midair, is LHS’s own magician, senior Aaron Krise.

“I became interested in magic when I was in middle school around sixth grade,” Krise said. “I saw an advertisement in a book catalog from Magical University so I ordered my first magic trick kit and things have just gone from there.”

However, becoming an amateur magician soon became frustrating for Krise and for a while he lost interest.

“I lost interest for two years because it became boring and I was annoyed at people figuring out what I was doing,” Krise said. “I re-gained interest when I went to Universal Studios with band and there was a shop where a guy was levitating a dollar, which eventually would be the same trick I used to get my magician career off the ground.”

By performing his levitating dollar trick at the Relay for Life, Krise was able to catch the interest of a man from Brookshire Bothers.

“He saw me performing and took pictures,” Krise said. “A month later he called me and then offered to pay me $200 to do a show for Brookshire Brothers at a vendor conference at the Civic Center.”

Because he considered the gig a big deal, Krise purchased more tricks to perform.

“The audience loved it because they could not figure out any of my magic tricks,” Krise said. “That gig helped me gain confidence in my magician abilities.”

Ever since that gig Krise has performed seven other shows, ranging from the Angel of Joy Baptist Church to children’s birthday parities.

“My shows cost $75 to $100 but usually I will take what people offer,” Krise said. “It may seem high to some people but the magic tricks I have to buy are expensive.”

According to Krise, friends and family are both supportive of his choice in being a magician.

“My ex is the only person who has not been supportive of me,” Krise said. “But other than that, my friends enjoy it.”

Junior Kaylon Pierson, a close friend, thinks Krise has a future in magic.

“I think he can go far with it because he is good,” Pierson said. “His tricks are awesome because they seem so unbelievable but they are real.”

While Krise said he is happy that people enjoy his magic, he is hoping people would take an interest in hiring him for shows.

“I want to use the money I earn to pay for college or for a car,” Krise said. “For people that are interested, they can contact me through MySpace or Facebook (through their search interfaces) and any extra business would be appreciated.”